


Flight 62 to LAX

by Yuki Seki (Myriai)



Category: Skip Beat!
Genre: Family Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-04
Updated: 2018-03-04
Packaged: 2019-03-27 03:15:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 9,698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13871943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Myriai/pseuds/Yuki%20Seki
Summary: After the broadcast where Saena Mogami denies Kyoko’s existence, Kyoko receives a delivery by special courier for ‘Kuon’ with a ticket to Los Angeles and promises that her father will meet her at the airport and they will have a “real” family vacation together.





	1. An Invitation to a Son

**Author's Note:**

> AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is my fic reposted from Fanfic.Net at the request of a dear one who can't handle the FF.Net layout/interface. I wrote this just before Chapter 227 came out (about 29 chapters ago...)
> 
> A couple minor notes (edited from my original notes): I haven't seen anything definitive about whether the Hizuris live in New York or LA, so given they're noted as Hollywood celebrities, I've chosen to locate them somewhere around Los Angeles (partly because I know LA better due to my own geographic location).
> 
> Skip Beat! belongs to Yoshiki Nakamura not me and all the characters are hers too for this round.
> 
> Thank you for taking the time to read this story, I appreciate it ^_^
> 
> Disclaimer x2: Any resemblance this fic has to anything you wrote or someone you know wrote is completely coincidental as I have not read any of the family fics dealing with the Hizuris and Kyoko-I'm having a hard enough time keeping up with updating my own fictions...

** Prologue: An Invitation to a Son **

****

“Mogami-san?”

Kyoko glanced up as one of the interns at LME called her name and was startled to see a certified envelope in his hand.  She was in the LoveMe division office finishing up a few things on the report that the President required her to turn in.  “May I help you?” she asked.

“This arrived at the front desk for you and Sawara-san said you’d be here and asked me to make sure you got it immediately,” he said.  “Are you all right Mogami-san?”

Kyoko pulled a smile out for him and accepted the envelope graciously.  “I’m fine,” she assured him.  “Thank you.”

Likely it was the papers that declared her an emancipated minor and left her in charge of her own decisions.  She’d expected the result when she’d met with her mother, but even so it still hurt a little bit that the first words out of her mother’s mouth when they met in her office had been an inquiry as to if she’d come for those papers.  She stuffed the envelope in her bag not even bothering to look at the return address; she’d deal with it after work tonight at Darumaya.

She slung her bag onto her shoulder and rose from the chair she was sitting in and collected the papers for her report and dropped them into the President’s box on her way out the door.  She cheerfully greeted some of her coworkers and bowed to some of the senior members of the agency she happened to run across and slipped out the back door used by the various celebrities who worked with LME to enter and leave the agency safely without riling a mob.  “Mogami-san, are you already done for the day?”

Kyoko drew up short and felt her cheeks color as Ren Tsuruga’s voice caught her and she turned to see him and Yashiro-san pausing on the way to the door.  “Yes, my job today was canceled due to one of the other members of the cast coming down with an illness and we’re far enough ahead that the director felt we could use the day off,” she replied. 

“Ah, that’s good,” Tsuruga-san said and looked like he wanted to say something else, but he seemed to shake his head.  “Enjoy your night off.”

“I’m going to work the dinner shift at Darumaya since I’ve the time,” Kyoko said.  “Good luck on your work today.”

The two parted and Kyoko headed towards where her bike was secured, humming softly to herself things seeming immensely brighter after seeing Tsuruga-san.  She stopped dead in her tracks—what the hell was she thinking she didn’t have time for this!

_Ah, but you’ve chosen to allow yourself the freedom to love him deep in your heart as long as he never finds out._

Satisfied with her response to herself, Kyoko allowed herself to float for a little longer before she had to concentrate on navigating the Tokyo traffic to return to the restaurant.

It was nearly midnight when Kyoko finally pulled the envelope out of her bag and she froze as the US Air Mail stamp came into view.  “What…” she began and looked at it and noticed the family name ‘Hizuri’ inscribed in the corner.

Her hands shook as she slit the envelope open and shook the contents out onto her table.  It was a letter and what looked to be a plane ticket and Kyoko’s eyes widened, immediately grabbing the envelope.  Inside was a beautifully written letter that informed her that her father missed her terribly and arrangements had been made with LME for her to spend a week or so in LA while her father and mother were in between jobs.  Tears flooded her eyes and her hands clenched around the letter.  She picked up the airline ticket and stared at it for a long moment.


	2. Flight Trajectory

“What’s your flight number again Mogami-san?”

“Sixty-two,” Kyoko answered Tsuruga-san’s question promptly and the actor skimmed over the board.

“Ah, Gate A-7, it says that it’s running on time still,” Ren said.

Kyoko was shocked when Ren said that he’d take her to the airport for her flight after she’d called him about it the next day.  She’d asked 101 questions about if he really had time in his schedule to do so.  She’s been even more surprised when he came on his own and emerged from his car dressed in a pair of faded jeans and a tank top that said ‘Made in the USA’.  No one had even glanced at the two of them twice beyond a few admiring looks from some of the women who passed by, but they didn’t seem to recognize him. Of course they wouldn’t, Kyoko almost hadn’t recognized him in such informal attire, she could count the number of times she’d seen Tsuruga-san in jeans on one hand and still have a couple fingers left over.  “Are you sure you should be out in the open so much?” Kyoko asked, her eyes flashing to a screen that was playing a preview for a drama her senior made a guest appearance in.

The preview was immediately followed by a commercial she’d filmed a few weeks ago and Ren smiled.  “Should _you_ be out in the open so much, Mogami-san?” he asked.

“No one ever recognizes a no-name talento like me even if Box ‘R’ or Dark Moon were on the screen right now,” Kyoko said and then realized abruptly that maybe she shouldn’t sound so proud of that.

Ren chuckled.  “You have your passport, your cell phone, and your charger?” he quizzed as they approached the security check point.

“Yes Tsu-R-ren-san,” Kyoko stumbled over his name almost forgetting his request to call him by his first name so as not to draw as much attention in case someone overheard.

“Call me as soon as you land in LAX and get to a place where you can,” Tsuruga-san reminded her firmly.

“B-but what if there’s a delay and it’s late in Tokyo and…” she began.

“I don’t care if it’s 3 AM here in Tokyo. When you arrive, call me,” he stated.  “I won’t rest easily until I know you’re there safely.”

“All right,” Kyoko said and took a deep breath as the security gate loomed.

“Also, it’s requested that you give this to Hizuri-san when you see him,” Tsuruga-san added extracting a minidisc from his pocket and handing it to her.

“All right,” Kyoko said.  “I’ll protect it with my life!”

He chuckled and reached out and ruffled her hair.  “If it comes down to your life or the disc, Mogami-san, I assure you that saving yourself would be preferable.  Have a safe flight.  Don’t forget to call.”

Kyoko tucked the disc in her purse and smiled at him.  “Thank you.  I won’t.”

She bowed to him politely before turning and heading to the security checkpoint, her suitcase rolling after her.

Kyoko stirred as she felt the altitude change when the plane started its approach into Los Angeles.  Rubbing sleep from her eyes, she picked up her bag and went through it making sure everything was still there to make going through customs as smooth as possible.  After ascertaining that the documentation was there and double-checking to make sure that the disc Tsuruga-san entrusted her with was still there, she relaxed, amber eyes going out the window to watch as the scenery below her changed.

Kyoko emerged from the security checkpoint a while later and looked over the sea of people streaming through the airport.  She wasn’t sure how Kuu was going to meet her without creating a mob—though maybe things were different in the US than Japan when it came to their star actors? 

Her eyes finally landed on a dark-suited person holding up a sign that read “Kuon” in both English and the Japanese kanji.  She moved towards the sign and the person lowered his sunglasses and winked at her and she realized abruptly that it was Kuu.  Her smile lit up the airport as he moved to greet her.  “Welcome to Los Angeles, Kuon,” Kuu Hizuri said.  “We’re going this way.”

They chatted about her flight and some of the things that she hoped to do while in the US as they made their way through the bewildering labyrinth of LAX.  They passed into one of the garages where a sleek black limo waited for them.  There was another man in an identical black suit standing by the car that opened the door as they approached.  “This is my son Kuon,” Kuu boasted.

The driver gave him an indulgent smile.  “It’s a pleasure, Miss Kuon,” he said.

Kuu took off the hat and handed it back to the driver who put it back on his head and the two ducked into the car and the driver shut the door behind them.  “Julie, your mother, won’t be in until later tonight,” Kuu informed Kyoko as they pulled away from the curb.  “Her last shoot took longer than anticipated and she had to catch a later flight.  I thought maybe we could cook dinner for her?”

Kyoko’s eyes widened.  “Wh-what kind of food does she like?  If I can find a recipe I…” she began.

“I said _we_ can cook dinner for her,” Kuu scowling down at her, “Father and son cooking dinner for Mother when she gets home from a hard day at work.  I think she won’t mind some Japanese food for tonight.”

Kyoko felt a rush of warmth at Kuu’s words and smiled shyly.  “Okay, if you’re sure…” she said and then her eyes widened.  “Oh!  Before I forget!  Tsuruga-san told me that someone had requested I deliver this to you when I got to the US.”

As her hand made contact with the disc she also remembered something else she’d promised to do.  She extracted the disc and handed it over.  “I-is it all right if I make a phone call?” she asked hesitantly.

“It’s 4 AM in Japan right now,” Kuu pointed out.

“Tsuruga-san made me promise I’d call no matter what time it was in Japan when I had a chance,” Kyoko replied her eyes dropping to her hands as she fidgeted with her cell phone.

“Oh he did, did he?” Kuu questioned.

Kyoko nodded and the actor chuckled.  “Make your phone call, it’s a long drive to the house,” he said.

She beamed at him and hit speed dial #1 and waited anxiously as it connected.  It nearly went to voice mail when a voice rough from sleep answered.  “Tsuruga.”

“Tsu-tsuruga-san, it’s Mogami. I-I made it to LA safely, I’m in Father’s car right now.  I-I’m sorry I called so late.  I…”

Kyoko’s words tumbled over each other almost careening into unintelligible and she heard the sound of the mattress shifting.  “I told you to call me no matter what time it was,” Tsuruga-san reminded her, his voice sounded more awake now.  “I also need to get up for work in a few minutes anyway.  Was your flight good?”

“I slept most of the way because I had to scramble to film so many scenes for while I was away for the next week so the production wouldn’t get behind,” Kyoko admitted.

“That’s what I usually do on long flights too,” Tsuruga-san said, Kyoko could almost hear that gentle smile he directed at her every now and then in his voice.  “Do you have any plans yet?”

“Uh, no, not really,” Kyoko said.  “Father said Mother had to reschedule her flight and wouldn’t be home until later this evening and he suggested we make dinner for her.”

“From what I understand I think Julie will like that,” Ren said.  “If it hasn’t been brought up already, you should go to Disneyland.”

“D-Disneyland?” Kyoko said.  “I’ve never…”

Kuu’s eyes widened in horror behind his glasses as he half-listened to Kyoko’s conversation with Ren Tsuruga and heard she’d never been to something like that.

“You’ll find a lot of fairies there,” Tsuruga smiled.

“O~oh really?” Kyoko asked, her eyes lighting up.

“Yes really,” he said.

She heard an alarm clocking going off in the background and blinked.  “You have to get up this early today?” she asked.

“Yes, I have a photo shoot in Hokkaido I need to catch a flight for,” he replied.

“Then I’ll let you go so you can be ready for work on time,” Kyoko said.

“Thank you for calling Mogami-san,” Tsuruga-san said.  “Will you call me again later this week and tell me more about your trip?”

“I-if you want,” Kyoko stuttered.

“I’ll look forward to hearing from you, Mogami-san,” he said and Kyoko hung up the phone after the good-byes.

“You haven’t been to Tokyo Disneyland?” Kuu asked as soon as Kyoko was off the phone.

“I’ve never been to anything like that…” Kyoko admitted.

“Your father is shocked by this,” Kuu frowned.

“I-I’m s-sorry…” Kyoko apologized.

“You don’t need to apologize for something like that,” Kuu said.  “Your father will make sure you do all sorts of things before you go back so that you can tell Mr. Tsuruga about all of them.”

“But—” Kyoko began.

“Family vacations are very important,” Kuu said firmly.

The rest of the trip to the house was spent with Kuu talking about various things they could do as a family and Kyoko’s head whirled as she tried to imagine doing all of those things.  “There’s not enough time before I go back to do all of that!” Kyoko protested at one point.

“These are just suggestions,” Kuu smiled.  “We’ll discuss them with Julie and see what we can fit in for the time we have you here.”

As they drew closer to their destination, Kyoko’s stomach tightened as Kuu continued to carry on about the plans they’d make for the week.  Deep inside, Kyoko worried if the woman that Kuu kept calling her “Mother” would really even like her much less want to do anything like go to Disneyland or even eat the food they made. 

After all, even the woman who gave birth to her didn’t want to acknowledge her existence—why would a woman who’d never even met her feel differently?


	3. Taking Off

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In regards to Juliena Hizuri, I probably took some liberties with her personality as we haven't seen a great deal of it yet in the Skip Beat! manga. So I guess this is kind of more of my translation of Julie's character than the Skip Beat! character, but I think it works.
> 
> Thank you for reading and we all know this doesn't belong to me ^_^

 

Kyoko was pulling the last of the food off the stove when Kuu’s head shot up and a smile lit his face.  “Julie’s home,” he announced and hurried off not bothering to take off the apron he’d donned while they were cooking.

Kyoko watched her “Father” go and shook her head a bit a soft smile playing over her lips; Kuu didn’t just overly adore his son.  She checked everything one last time and made sure the oven was off before she doffed her apron and shuffled after Kuu.  She wasn’t nearly as sure as Kuu was that Julie would feel the same about the stranger who’d become Kuu’s “other son”.

She stepped into the entrance hall and glanced away from Kuu and the blond woman in the doorway embracing as soon as it was closed off from the rest of the world outside.  After what seemed like a very long time, the two separated and Kuu turned.  “Honey, meet our other son,” Kuu said.

Juliena Hizuri’s blue eyes met Kyoko’s and she flushed and dropped into a bow.  “I’m sorry for imposing.  Please treat me kindly.”

There was a soft staccato as heels hit the tiled floor and a cool, pale hand urged Kyoko’s face up to meet the face of the internationally renowned model and actress and slight frown played over her rose-colored lips.  “How does a child impose upon their parents when they’re coming to visit?” Juliena asked with a gentle smile.

Kyoko’s eyes widened and the woman pulled her into a gentle hug.  “Welcome home.”

Kyoko froze as Juliena hugged her and Juliena stepped back with something Kyoko could only call sympathy flickering over her expression.  “Something smells wonderful!” she exclaimed after taking a deep breath.

“We decided to make dinner for you tonight,” Kuu said.  “Kuon helped with everything.”

“Oh that’s wonderful!  A family dinner!”

Juliena clapped her hands in genuine delight and smiled brilliantly at her husband and ‘son’.  “Give me a moment to go change.  The rest of the luggage should be in soon.”

“I’ll have them put it in the hall and I’ll take it up to our room after dinner,” Kuu said.

“Thank you, dear,” Juliena smiled and turned to Kyoko.  “I can’t wait to taste what you worked so hard to cook.  Your father told me stories about how wonderful your cooking was when he was in Japan.”

Kyoko flushed, her eyes dropped to the tile again as she mumbled in Japanese.  “I’m not that good.”

Kuu knocked his fist on her head lightly.  “English while we’re here, Kuon, and accept compliments more gracefully,” he reminded her.  “Let’s go set the table for dinner.”

“Okay,” Kyoko said, flushing a bit at the light criticism.

Kuu helped pull the dishes from the higher cabinets and Kyoko set about getting the table prepared when the bell rang and Kuu went to go secure Julie’s luggage to be put up later.  He’d explained to Kyoko that when they were at home, they did not like to allow the outside world too far into their sanctuary.  The Hizuris kept a penthouse apartment in LA that they did their ‘at-home’ interviews in and appeared in magazine spreads about celebrities at home.

Kyoko put the last place setting on the table and glanced up to see Juliena standing in the doorway in a flowing skirt and a pale pink blouse.  The blond woman was beautiful just like Kuu had promised and she was watching Kyoko with a look the girl couldn’t quite decipher.  “I’ve almost got everything set, I’ll be getting the food soon,” Kyoko said.  “Please sit down.”

“I’ll help you bring it in,” Julie smiled.  “It’s the least I can do after you and Kuu went to all the trouble of making dinner.  I’ll have to cook tomorrow night.”

Part of Kyoko dreaded the idea of the older woman cooking based on Kuu’s stories, but she couldn’t help but feel bad about it with the look of anticipation that filled Julie’s face.  “Thank you,” Kyoko said and they went into the kitchen and gathered the dishes.

Kyoko turned and saw Julie watching her again and her eyes automatically tracked downward again.  “I-is something wrong?” she asked.

“No, not at all,” Julie said.  “Do you think we could talk after dinner for a little while Kuu takes his shower?”

Kyoko nodded slowly; dread filling her and wondering if she needed to find another flight back to Japan for the next day.  She didn’t have the money to pay for the ticket, but maybe…

Kyoko pulled up a smile and forced herself into calm as the two made their way into the dining room and put the food on the table.  Kuu joined them shortly thereafter and conversation rolled around the table.  Kyoko allowed herself to be lulled into a state of relaxation by it and responded cheerfully to the questions directed at her about the ideas for the next week that she was spending with them.

After dinner, the three crowded into the kitchen laughing and talking as they cleaned all the dishes and put them away, but as soon as Kuu announced that he was going up to take a shower, Kyoko’s stomach twisted and her good mood faded away.

Julie dried the last plate and put it up and turned her attention to Kyoko as she stripped away the rubber gloves she’d used while they were doing dishes and threw them away.  “Please come this way,” she said.

Kyoko put up her apron and followed the blond woman into one of the other rooms where she saw Julie staring out the large bay window.  There were books everywhere in the room and if she was going to stay here longer, Kyoko found herself liking the idea of curling up on the window seat in the bay window to read one of the books.

“I-I can pack my things back up and leave in the morning,” Kyoko blurted out, dropping her eyes to the carpet.  “I truly didn’t mean to impose…”

“Leave?” Julie sounded surprised and Kyoko’s head shot up.

“I wasn’t going to ask you to leave at all,” Julie said, she’d turned from the window to look at Kyoko.  “You’ve come such a long way to visit someone you’ve never met, I’m not anything but happy that you’re here.  I just…”

“What?”

“May I call you Kyoko instead of Kuon?” Julie asked.  “It feels like I’m betraying my son’s memory calling you by his name.  I know you’re more comfortable calling Kuu and me ‘father’ and ‘mother’ in the last vestiges of the role that you created when you were with Kuu in Japan.  But, to be truthful…”

Kyoko held her breath as Julie hesitated.

“I would have really enjoyed having a daughter as well as having my son.  I wasn’t able to have any more children after Kuon although we’d hoped for a large family,” Julie said.  “If you are not comfortable calling me Mother as Kyoko, it’s all right.  You can call me Julie until you figure out how you want to address me.  So, may I?”

Kyoko blinked as her brain fought to process what in all was just said and then she gave the other a shy smile.  “I-I don’t mind…”

Julie smiled at her.  “Thank you, Kyoko.”

She moved forward and put a gentle arm around Kyoko’s shoulders.  “I think that Kuu has some chocolate ice cream hidden in the freezer, I think we should sneak some, what do you think?”

“Will he get mad?” Kyoko asked.

Juliena smiled mischievously.  “He might, but that’s half the fun…”

Kyoko giggled in spite of herself and the two women snuck into the kitchen and found a large bucket of chocolate ice cream in the freezer as Julie promised and slipped away with it to the room where there was a large screen and literally hundreds of movies sitting on shelves.

“What would you like to watch?” Julie asked her.

“I…don’t know…” Kyoko’s eyes moved around the room slowly.  “Is there something with you and Father in it?”

“We’ve done several movies together…” Julie said and started listing them off.

Kyoko’s mind reeled for a moment and Julie paused.  “Which one would you like to see?”

“Um…your favorite one?” Kyoko suggested hesitantly.

Julie smiled and extracted a DVD from the shelf and displayed it.  “Then so it shall be.  It hasn’t been remastered onto Blu-Ray yet, so this will have to do.”

Kuu appeared in the doorway as Julie stuck the DVD into the player and pouted a bit.  “You’re having bonding time without me?”

Julie smiled at him as she headed to the couch as the disc spun up.  “Is it wrong to want some time to bond with my daughter?” she asked.  “Would you like to join us?  We have ice cream.”

Kuu gave his assent and joined them on the couch as the opening title kicked up.

Kyoko fell asleep about midway through the movie and Kuu paused the show and glanced at his wife.  “It’s been a long day for her,” Julie said with a soft smile and stroked her hair.  “Can you get her to her room?”

Kuu nodded and gently scooped Kyoko into his arms.  “Ren Tsuruga apparently gave her a disc to give to me when she got here.  It’s by the player on top of the one Kuon sent back with me from Japan.  Would you like to watch it?”

Julie’s eyes lit up.  “Do you think it’s another message from Kuon?” she asked hopefully.

“I’m not sure, I decided to wait until you got home to find out,” Kuu smiled.  “Let’s get this one in bed first.”

Julie nodded and the two headed up the stairs to the room that Kuu designated as ‘his other son’s’ upon his return from Japan.  It was across the hall from the room Kuon had slept in when he lived with them.  The room was fairly neutral though based on some of his discussions with Kyoko Kuu had gotten a matching four-poster bed, dresser, and dressing table and put lacy curtains in the windows. Everything else was plain, waiting for its owner to come and put her personality into the space between the walls.

Julie pulled the patchwork quilt and sheets down and Kuu put Kyoko down on the bed and Julie tucked her in.  “Good night, Kyoko,” Julie said softly, pressing a kiss to the girl’s forehead before rising.  “Sleep well and sweet dreams.”


	4. Across the Sky

 

Kyoko woke up to light streaming in through her windows and turned to look at the clock that was on the bedside table and her eyes went wide.  She never slept past 7 AM and here it was inching towards 11:30!  She sprang out of bed and scrambled into her clothing before tumbling down the stairs coming to a halt in the dining room where she saw Kuu and Julie talking quietly to each other over empty dishes.

“I’m so sorry!  I didn’t mean to sleep so long! And I fell asleep in the middle of your important film…” Kyoko exclaimed and dropped into dogeza, “please forgive me I shouldn’t have…”

Kuu was there in a moment and urged her up. “Why are you apologizing?” he asked.  “You had a long flight yesterday and you’re on vacation…”

“But I didn’t make breakfast and…” Kyoko began.

“You are on vacation, Kyoko,” Julie repeated, glancing at her over the rim of her coffee cup. 

“But, I…”

“No buts,” Kuu frowned and pointed to a seat at the table.  “Sit. What would you like on your omelet?”

He rattled off the ingredients they had on hand and Kyoko stared down at the tablecloth for a moment before answering hesitantly.  “I’ll make it, you stay right there,” Kuu ordered her.

Kyoko did as she was told and Julie put down the paper.  “Kuu got a call from his manager today, he has an emergency meeting with one of the production teams for his next film,” she said.  “We were thinking that while he was in his meeting, he could drop us off to do some shopping and he’d meet up with us afterwards.  Would that be all right with you?”

“Yes,” Kyoko smiled.

She wouldn’t be able to buy very much, but it would be fun to look at what the shops in the US had versus what she saw in the shops in Tokyo.

A few minutes later, Kuu emerged with an omelet and placed it in front of Kyoko with a flourish.  “I’m sorry this meeting cropped up during our family vacation,” he said, settling back in his seat with another omelet for himself.  “I’ve told him that this is the only one.  If anything else comes up it can wait.”

“But…” Kyoko began.

Kuu shook his head.  “I told them I was on vacation this week,” he said. “I shouldn’t have agreed to this meeting, but I promise it will be the only one.”

Kyoko shook her head.  “Don’t worry about it.”

“Even if you don’t worry about it, Kyoko, _I_ will,” Julie said.  “This is family time.”

Kuu gave his wife an apologetic look.

“You shouldn’t have picked up that call this morning,” Julie said.

“I did it before I realized it,” Kuu said.  “I’m sorry, honey.”

“Tell them I only have three weeks to live and you want to make the most of it,” Julie instructed then took another sip from her coffee cup before setting it down.  “I’m going to go change clothes.  Make sure you wear some comfortable shoes, Kyoko, I’m going to show you all my favorite stores.”

“Three weeks…” Kyoko trailed off a horrified look in her eyes as they turned to Kuu.

“She’s exaggerating,” Kuu reassured her. 

“A-all right,” Kyoko said hesitantly still worried about Julie’s announcement.

They got into Kuu’s car, a red sports car Kyoko didn’t even think about looking at beyond thinking how flashy it was as she climbed into the back seat.  She couldn’t talk to the other two much over the wind through the windows and instead watched the landscape flash by as they drove.  She paid only half-attention to the conversation going on in the front seat between Julie and Kuu and was startled when she heard her name.

“I’m sorry, what?” Kyoko asked glancing at them.

“We were talking about what to make for dinner tonight so we can stop by the grocery store for ingredients before we go home tonight,” Kuu said.  “Do you have any suggestions?”

Kyoko shook her head.  “Not right now.  Whatever you like is good.”

“Kyoko,” Julie frowned.

“What?” Kyoko asked in confusion.

“It’s okay to have an opinion and tell us what you want,” Kuu said looking at her through the rear view mirror.

“I really don’t have a preference.  I’ve not eaten American food very often,” Kyoko said.

“Then maybe cheeseburgers off the grill, salad, and something that looks good from the bakery?” he suggested.

Kyoko smiled shyly.  “Sounds good.”

They pulled to a stop and Julie and Kyoko got out.  Kuu caught Kyoko’s arm.  “Don’t worry Father will be along quickly to carry yours and your mother’s bags.  I plan to make this one of the quickest production meetings on record.”

“Don’t be too long dear,” Julie smiled.  “Or I may just buy out most of the stores.”

Kyoko saw the same mischievousness flash across Julie’s face as she had the night before when the blond woman suggested “stealing” Kuu’s chocolate ice cream and couldn’t help but giggle.  She paused for a moment and wondered why it seemed familiar and then realized that it was something that Setsuka may have done to Cain Heel had they perpetrated the Heel Siblings further.

Julie was greeted by name when they entered the first store and a salesperson was immediately assigned to assist her.  The girl started showing things to Julie and the blond woman held up a hand.  “Today, I’ve come to shop for my daughter,” she announced firmly and gestured at Kyoko.

“What?” Kyoko exclaimed her grip tightening on her bag.

Julie smiled.  “So what kind of clothes do you like?  Is there anything here that appeals to you?”

Kyoko looked around and nearly backed out of the store the moment she took a look at one of the price tags.  “Um…I…” she began.

Julie caught her hand as Kyoko yanked back from the price tag.  “An actress must have a complete arsenal available at a moment’s notice in order to do her job,” Julie said.  “That arsenal doesn’t just include your talent.”

“But…” Kyoko began.  “I can’t…”

Julie grinned.  “I can,” she said.  “Let’s shop.”

Kyoko found herself caught up in the whirlwind that was Julie Hizuri’s shopping expedition and found herself having more fun than she’d had in a long time.  They bought clothing and went through some of the other shops and put on silly glasses and scarves making jokes and giggling at each other.  Kuu called while they were in the fourth store to tell Julie things were taking longer than he thought he would and he wouldn’t be able to join them until later in the afternoon.  Julie had pouted at him through the phone while Kyoko stifled a giggle as she noted the humor lighting the other actress’s blue eyes. 

Throughout the expedition they’d talked about many other things ranging from the things that Kyoko was doing in Japan to the differences between the way the American movie industry worked compared to some of the other industries that Julie worked in.  Over the course of their shopping trip, some people recognized Julie and had asked for autographs and pictures which Julie allowed, but for the most part they were left alone.  Kyoko eagerly took in Julie’s attitude in dealing with the occasional fan and talking to others and added it to the list of things for her to work on perfecting as she reached for the highest star in acting.

Finally they wound their way to a book store and Julie pointed at the café that was inside.  “Let’s rest for a little while,” she suggested.  “They have some amazing pastries and their vanilla iced chai is something you shouldn’t miss.”

Julie picked a table in the back corner and they settled into the booth and started drinking their tea and chatting some more.   About halfway through their drink, Julie’s soft blue eyes met Kyoko’s and she touched the younger girl’s hand, drawing her attention.  “This has been so much fun, Kyoko,” she smiled, “and I’ve loved hearing about everything in Japan, but, as much as I love hearing about Mr. Tsuruga, Miss Moko, Maria, and Mr. Takarada, there is someone I’m far more interested in getting to know.”

“W-who?” Kyoko stuttered.

“I’m really, really interested in Kyoko Mogami,” Julie said with a gentle smile.  “Can you tell me all about her instead?  What does she like?  What are her favorite things in the entire world?  What kind of books does she read?  What kind of dreams does she have?  Will you tell me about those instead?”

Kyoko’s breath caught and tears flooded her eyes.  Julie pulled a handkerchief out of her bag and handed it to Kyoko.  “Don’t cry,” she said.  “Hasn’t anyone ever asked you that before?”

“I, um…” Kyoko’s voice choked off and she took a deep breath.  “No, not really…”

Tsuruga-san, Moko, and the others had talked to her sometimes about that sort of thing, but none of them had ever pushed directly for answers, respecting her wish to keep the past in the past.

“Then tell me _everything_ ,” Julie said.  “I want to hear all of it.  I’d like to get to know my daughter the way I eventually hope to get to know my son again.”

Kyoko choked up again, but managed to eventually start answering the beautiful woman’s questions.


	5. The Truth about Fairy Princes

 

It was nearly 4 PM when Kuu was finally able to join the girls in their shopping and, to his disappointment, they didn’t have much other shopping to be done at the shopping center.  They picked a restaurant for a late lunch and settled down as Kuu listened to his wife and Kyoko chatter.  When Kyoko asked about his meeting they drew him into the conversation as well as he talked about his upcoming project and Kyoko listened intently.  She’d realized somewhere along the lines today that she was in the company of not one but _two_ world-class actors and she wanted to learn as much as she could from them even as they spent time together “as a family”.

The dessert menu was brought around and Kyoko hadn’t even finished half her meal and wasn’t even sure that she could _think_ about dessert—the portions here in the US were huge, it was no wonder Kuu had such a massive appetite.  “So, have you thought about what you want to do with your room?” Kuu inquired as he placed an order for dessert for all of them over Kyoko’s objections.

“With my room?” Kyoko repeated.

“The one you slept in last night,” Kuu said.  “Everything in that room is yours and it’s really plain.  I’m sure you have some things that you’d love to do with it.”

“But you don’t usually let guests decorate their rooms…”

“No, but children get to decorate their rooms however they wish,” Kuu responded.  “Let’s go to the home improvement store after this and you can pick out some paint or wallpaper and carpet then we’ll hit some other stores for any furniture and decorations you’d like.”

Kyoko’s eyes widened and then suddenly filled with tears and she excused herself hurriedly to rush to the bathroom before she embarrassed herself and her hosts by bursting into noisy tears in the middle of a fine restaurant.

Julie watched Kyoko run off and caught her husband’s arm.  “Give her a moment, love,” she advised.  “She’s on a bit of an overload right now and not sure what to do with herself.”

“But, my daughter’s crying and…” Kuu began.

“Sometimes you just have to let girls cry for a little bit on their own so they can pull themselves back together,” Julie said.  “I’ll go get her after she has a few moments to compose herself.  Though I do want to know how you plan to get the things to fix her room up when we didn’t even warn her that we were going to do this.  We don’t have any of the measurements or…”

Kuu produced a folder out of his bag and flipped it open to reveal 8 x 10 photos of Kyoko’s room as it currently was and a spread sheet with all the pertinent measurements as well as a folded piece of laminated graph paper that was on scale with the rooms dimension’s and a baggie full of paper tokens of various beds, chairs, and the like.  “We can probably get most of it put together with this.  We’ll probably have to find somewhere else to work on it, the tables here are kind of small.”

Julie laughed and placed a kiss on her husband’s cheek.  “You do think of everything.  I’ll go check on Kyoko now.”

She nuzzled her husband’s neck one more time before getting up to find where Kyoko disappeared to.

Kyoko heard the bathroom door open and blew her nose one more time before emerging and finding Julie waiting.  “Are you all right, Kyoko?” she asked.

Kyoko sniffed one more time and scrubbed at her eyes.  “I’m fine, I just…” she trailed off and her mouth rounded into an ‘O’ of horror as she got a look at her face in the mirror.  “I’m a wreck!  I’ll embarrass you and Father and…”

“Your father and I don’t particularly care. Our daughter can be whatever she’d like and look however she wants,” Julie smiled and pulled her make-up bag out of her purse, “but if you’re worried about it, let me help.”

Kyoko smiled gratefully at Julie and they spent the next five minutes setting Kyoko’s hair and make-up to rights and Julie nodded in satisfaction.  “What do you say we do a spa day tomorrow,” she suggested.

“Spa day?” Kyoko asked in surprise.

“Have you ever been to a beauty spa?” Julie asked.

“Um…no, I don’t think so,” Kyoko said.  “I’ve been to a salon…”

She fingered her chestnut hair and Julie chuckled.  “This is something completely different,” she said.

“But…” Kyoko began, the figures that made up her finances loomed in her mind’s eye.

Julie slipped an arm around Kyoko’s shoulders, guiding her out of the bathroom.  “It’ll be fun,” she assured her and gave her a pleading look.  “Won’t you go with me?”

Kyoko’s resolve to say no crumbled and she nodded.  “Of course I’ll go with you,” she assured her.

When they returned to the table, Kyoko apologized to Kuu for running off and he assured her it was all right.  He caught their waiter and asked to have the desserts boxed to go and requested the check.  “Shall we?” he asked after everything was taken care of.

They left the restaurant and went to more of the local stores and spent the next four hours figuring out paint and what kind of furniture that Kyoko wanted in her room helped by the folder that Kuu produced.  Kyoko was no longer sure what exactly was going on, but Kuu and Julie seemed really excited about this and she gave up trying to figure out how much all of this was costing.  Their enthusiasm translated to them getting home too late for the meal that Kuu proposed earlier so Julie and Kyoko worked to make a salad and they ate dinner in the dining room before heading back into the entertainment room to finish the movie they started the night before.

Now that she was more aware of everything that was going on (she’d been in a bit of an exhausted fog the previous night) Kyoko wandered through the room while she waited for Kuu and Julie and came up short at the collection of photos on the wall.  The photos depicted a younger Kuu and Julie and a familiar blond boy with green eyes that sometimes appeared russet as the light hit.

“Why do you have pictures of Corn?” she blurted out when Kuu entered the room.

“Corn?” Kuu repeated and he followed her gaze.  “Oh, the boy you talked about in Japan?”

Kyoko nodded and pointed at a picture that depicted the blond boy in a very familiar outfit she remembered from when she was six years old.  “Him, that’s Corn.  Why do you have his pictures?”

“That’s my son, Kuon,” Kuu said.  “Remember the boy I asked that you to create a role around?  That’s really him.”

“But he’s a fairy prince…” she began.

Kuu chuckled and ruffled her hair.  “I didn’t realize that Julie and I were fairies,” he smiled and pointed at other pictures.  “This is Kuon, we haven’t seen him for a very long time…”

“I thought he was dead!” Kyoko exclaimed.

“Why in the world would you think that?” Kuu asked in surprise.

“The way you were talking in Tokyo and last night when Julie…” Kyoko began.  “She said she felt like she was betraying his memory when…”

“We haven’t seen him since he was fifteen,” Julie said.

Kyoko’s head snapped in Julie’s direction as the blond woman entered the room.  “What?” Kyoko exclaimed.

“Do you know him?” Julie asked.

Kyoko nodded slowly.  “If he is the same Corn that I know, I met him when I was six in Kyoto,” she said slowly.  “We met again when I was in Guam working with Tsuruga-san on a project.”

“Oh, how was he doing?” Julie asked rushing forward.  “Tell me all about him.”

Kyoko was momentarily overwhelmed by the rush of emotion, but slowly gathered her head together and began to talk about the encounter in Guam.  They settled on the couch with the tea that Julie brought with her and Kyoko continued talking until every question was exhausted.  Julie wiped tears away and embraced Kyoko warmly.  “Thank you for putting up with a worried mother’s questions,” she said.  “I know this is our time as a family, but it’s been so long since I’ve heard anything of Kuon…”

Kyoko looked down at her hands.  “But if I’m wrong everything I just told you…”

“I don’t think you’re wrong Kyoko,” Kuu said soothingly.  “I’m sorry my son told you he was a fairy prince…”

“Well, he never said he was a fairy prince, I just assumed it and I think he played along with me,” Kyoko mumbled and then shook her head.  “If I should happen across Corn again, I’ll order him to immediately call his parents and tell them where he is and how he’s doing!”

There was a sudden fire in Kyoko’s eyes and Kuu and Julie’s eyes met over her head, smiles playing over their lips.  “If you do happen to run into him I’d appreciate it,” Julie said earnestly.  “For now though, shall we continue the movie?  The popcorn’s going to get cold…”

They settled back on the couch to finish the movie from the previous night and as the credits rolled Kyoko’s head was starting to loll to the side and rest on Kuu’s broad shoulder and the actor chuckled.  “Why don’t you head to bed, Kyoko,” he said gently.  “You’re about to fall asleep again.”

Kyoko shook herself and rubbed her eyes.  “I’m not tired,” she protested.  “I’m sure I’m good for at least one more movie…”

Julie chuckled softly.  “We have to get an early start tomorrow if we want to work on your room and still make it to the spa.  Get some sleep.”

Kyoko sighed and reluctantly rose unwilling to relinquish the warmth of being settled between the two people who were becoming more and more important to her as the hours passed.  She almost didn’t want the time in America to end, but she had many things to get back to.  “If you call Mr. Tsuruga right now it’s going to be about 4 PM, you might be able to catch him between jobs,” Kuu suggested.

Kyoko’s eyes lit up at that thought and she dropped into a quick bow and bolted through the door leaving the two adults chuckling in her wake.

“Well, that went better than I thought it would,” Kuu said.

“Kyoko isn’t the only actor in the house,” Julie smiled.  “It’s just as well he warned us in advance though so we were prepared for the eventuality.”

Her eyes tracked to the disc sitting on top of the disc player.  “Do you think maybe…”

“I think it will be safe for now,” Kuu smiled and moved to the disc player.

He put the movie they’d been watching up and slipped the other disc into the player.  He retreated to the couch and Julie nestled into his side as he pushed play on the remote control.

The screen came to life with a handsome blond man they’d seen in the previous video Kuu brought from the US and he began speaking:

“ _I have completed the role I was talking about in my last video and I think it will bring me one step closer to where I want to be and hopefully one step closer to a place where I can address my honored parents on the levels where I want to.  It was a difficult role, but I made it through likely due to no little help from Mogami-san._

_In regards to Mogami-san, who will be visiting you soon, if she should happen to see picture of my younger self, don’t be surprised if she asks about ‘Corn’.  I haven’t yet had an opportunity to tell her myself, but Mogami-san and I met when I was ten years old when we visited Kyoto.  She has a way of turning mundane things into fairy tales,”_ a soft smile played over the lips of the image on the screen before he continued, “ _She has an image of my younger self as a fairy prince called ‘Corn’ a role I adapted to quickly during our acquaintance and have perhaps overplayed just a little—but it is one of my favorite roles to date._

_I would prefer to tell her the truth about ‘Corn’ myself so I humbly request that no mention of ‘Corn’ or ‘Ren Tsuruga’ be made in context with Kuon Hizuri._

_Thank you for your understanding and kindness.”_

The image went black and Julie wiped a tear away.  “I still can’t believe he didn’t make a single mention of meeting anyone during that trip,” Kuu grumbled.  “I never expected he’d found someone to play with, he just found more reasons than usual to go outside while we were staying there.”

“It was unexpected,” Julie agreed and smiled softly before starting the video over again one more time.  “I won’t, however, object to hearing from my son so soon because of this.”

Kuu chuckled.  “I’ll go check on Kyoko.”

Upstairs Kyoko was smiling as she hung up the phone.  Tsuruga-san had only had a few minutes as he was in a dressing room waiting for one of his appearances on a talk show, but it had been fun telling him about everything going on and by the time Kuu checked on her, she was fast asleep, a smile still on her lips even in sleep as she held her cell phone in her hand.


	6. Home Improvements and Redwoods

 

Giggles filled the air as paint splashed on the plastic covering the floor and Kyoko couldn’t help but be excited as the room started to take shape.  A soft pastel purple covered the walls and sitting, hopefully out of paint fight range, was a border of pretty flowers that would go around the top of the room.  All the furniture had been covered in drop cloths and the delivery of the other furniture had arrived about mid-morning.  Kyoko finished the last swipe of the paint brush and wiped the sweat off her forehead and turned, stopping and just staring at the other two occupants of the room.

Kuu’s tanktop and jeans were spattered with paint and some paint had also found its way into his hair.  Julie had proven to be much better at giving instructions than painting, but had still given it her best.  She also wore a pair of jeans that had seen a lot of wear and her t-shirt had a logo of something that had long since faded.  Her long blond hair was bound in a braid and she wore a bandana kerchief in an effort to keep the paint from getting into her hair and it had for the most part, but there was a smudge of purple on her cheek that had Kyoko collapsing into laughter again.

“If you have time to laugh, you have time to get that next corner, Kyoko,” Kuu frowned at her, but Kyoko had gotten used to the teasing.

“Hai, Hai, as you wish,” she giggled and grabbed the bucket and moved.

“Did you call someone to put the border up, dear?” Julie asked.  “Kyoko a little to the left, we already got the second coat on that section and it’ll be unbalanced if you add another.”

They’d found to their dismay that none of them knew how to put up the flowered border and had been forced to look around for a contractor who had time to do it sooner rather than later.

“Yes, they’ll be here around one this afternoon while you ladies are off to the store to get Kyoko appropriate garb for the trip,” Kuu replied.  “While he’s doing that I figured I’d pack the car.  I already sent word to Mr. Claremont that we’d be heading for the cabin this evening.”

They finished their work amidst more giggles and talking and finally everything was as done as they could make it.  They’d all gotten up just as dawn lit the horizon and got to work putting coverings over everything so they could paint the room.  Kyoko had wound up borrowing one of the t-shirts Kuon had left behind and a pair of jeans they’d managed to finagle to fit her after rolling up the pant legs and tightening the waist so they wouldn’t fall off of her.  Kuu was on the phone with the person he’d contacted about putting the finishing touches up and Julie and Kyoko exited the room.

“Are you sure you’d rather go to the cabin than Disneyland?” Julie asked as they moved to the kitchen to clean their hands.

Kyoko nodded.  “After seeing all the pictures I think I’ll find a lot more things there than I would at Disneyland,” she smiled.  “Kuon looked like he had a lot of fun there and you and Papa need to get away from all the people calling you.”

Their painting had been interrupted by two phone calls from Kuu’s manager and one from Julie’s agent and the two had very firmly told them that they were on a family vacation.  Julie admitted that their vacations didn’t always go as planned because little emergencies seemed to crop up at odd times.  They finished cleaning up and got dressed in clean clothing and went up and found Kuu in his office scribbling something on his event calendar.  He glanced up when they entered and asked the person on the phone to hold.  “Heading out?” he asked.

“Yes, we’ll try and be back by four so we aren’t too late to the cabin tonight,” Julie said and moved in and kissed her husband.

Kyoko smiled shyly at him and bowed and Julie and she headed out.

They made it back to the house with five minutes to spare and saw that Kuu had already loaded the Jeep Grand Cherokee that they took when they went up to their cabin in the Redwood Forest.  “We’ll stop and get supplies on the way,” Kuu said.  “There’s a general store about a twenty minute drive from the cabin that should have everything we need.”

They nodded and went in and hurriedly finished packing the rest of the stuff they needed for the trip and were on the road by about 4:30 PM.  Kyoko fell asleep about halfway through the drive and Kuu and Julie smiled indulgently as they caught sight of the girl’s head resting against the window.  “Kuon used to fall asleep like that too,” Julie murmured, a soft smile playing on her lips.  “He’d insist he was going to stay awake the whole trip up, but somehow or another always fell asleep as soon as we got out of the city traffic.”

“She held out a little longer than he did,” Kuu noted and they laughed.

“I’m glad you decided to invite her to visit us,” Julie said.  “She’s everything I thought she would be and more.”

The next three days passed in a blur of warmth and happiness for Kyoko and she felt more and more comfortable with Kuu and Julie as the time went on.  Before they’d finished painting her room, Kuu had transitioned from ‘Father’ to ‘Papa’ and at some point while they were hiking and enjoying the various views presented along the hiking trail Julie had become “Mama”.  Julie had had a heart attack when Kyoko joined Kuu in scrambling onto the roof of the cabin to star gaze and had let both her husband and her daughter have it when they finally came down.

They made s’mores over a campfire and at night before they all tumbled into their beds they’d spent some time watching both **_Dark Moon_** and **_Tsukugomori_** and discussing the differences between the portrayals of the various characters on the screen.  Kuu and Julie didn’t hesitate to talk with Kyoko about acting or they picked out stories that they all chose characters and played it out.

By the time they were headed back to the Hizuris house after the trip, Kyoko laughed and teased her parents as much as they did her.  They made it back a little over thirty-six hours before Kyoko’s plane departed back to Japan.  The day after they returned they got the rest of Kyoko’s room set up and picked up a few more things and another piece of luggage so that Kyoko could bring home everything she had gotten over the course of her time with Kuu and Julie.

She and Julie had the spa time Julie had suggested just a bit prior to them having to take her to the airport to catch their flight and Kyoko teared up when she said good-bye to them.

“Come back again soon, Kyoko,” Julie said warmly.  “You’ll have to keep working with me on that dish you tried to teach me last night.”

Kyoko smiled through her tears.  “I will.”

“Don’t forget to call,” Kuu frowned at her.  “I’d like to hear how things are going for my daughter.”

“I won’t,” Kyoko said.

She hugged the two one last time and headed for the security checkpoint.


	7. Good-bye to a Daughter

“Do you really think she’ll be all right, Kuu?” Julie asked as they watched the plane ascend to the sky taking their daughter back to Japan.

Kuu wrapped his arm around Julie’s shoulders and the model leaned into him.  “She’ll be fine,” Kuu said.  “And she said that she’ll call us every week and tell us about what’s going on with her.”

“I wish Kuon would do the same,” Julie said wistfully.

“When he thinks he’s ready he will, Julie,” Kuu said with a soft smile.  “I have a feeling we’ll be hearing all about ‘Ren Tsuruga’ as well, so there is that.”

“Is that why you decided to get close to her?” Julie asked turning and scowling up at her husband.  “So you could keep an eye on Kuon?”

Kuu held up his hands immediately under the flare of temper in his wife’s eyes.  “That never occurred to me until just now,” he said.  “Although next time I see Ren Tsuruga, I’m going to have a serious talk with him.”

“Dear?” Julie frowned.

“I have to find out his intentions towards my daughter,” Kuu said darkly.

~ * ~

“So how was Disneyland?”

“We actually didn’t make it to Disneyland this time, Papa said that we’d go next time for sure,” Kyoko smiled up at Tsuruga-san.

“Papa?” the actor repeated as they moved down to the baggage claim to get the bag that Julie had purchased to put the new clothes she and Kyoko shopped for in.

Kyoko nodded. “Mama wanted to go shopping with me and then we decided to go camping in the redwoods for a little while to get to know each other.  That’s why I wasn’t able to contact you for those three days.  We only got back the day before my flight left again and decided we’d rather hang out quietly together than brave the crowds at Disneyland.”

“It sounds like you had a lot of fun,” he said.

She nodded.  “I never knew a family could be like that,” she said softly.  “What was your family like, Tsuruga-san?  If it’s not prying I mean…”

The dark-haired man chuckled.  “My family is very warm and loving.  I haven’t talked to them in a while…”

“Why not?” Kyoko asked.

“Because the circumstances haven’t been right yet,” Tsuruga-san replied.  “But I think it’s getting closer.”

“I think you would get along well with Papa and Mama,” Kyoko said.

“I probably would.  Maybe next time you go to California I can see if I can clear my schedule enough to come along with you.”

Kyoko’s eyes went wide and she turned to look at him in surprise, her cheeks coloring at his comment.  “It’ll be like meeting your parents, right?” he said and Kyoko’s cheeks turned a darker red.  “It wouldn’t be a bad thing to meet my kouhai’s parents, would it?”

“Um…no…” Kyoko squeaked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And voila, done!
> 
> I am contemplating writing Flight 62 to LAX Part Deux, but I have a bunch of other stuff to finish first and I'm getting glared at for putting too much on my writing plate ^^;


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